VATES - Traceable AI Knowledge Infrastructure
VATES is an embeddable B2B AI knowledge infrastructure platform developed by STANDOUT Inc. in Japan. It enables organizations and developers to build AI assistants using structured, company-controlled knowledge, with an emphasis on traceability, flexibility, and knowledge ownership.
Unlike conventional vector-based RAG architectures, VATES uses EchoScript (ES), a structured intermediary representation, combined with BM25 and heading-path retrieval. It does not require a vector database or embedding pipeline.
Key Features
- Structured Knowledge Management: Users can create knowledge through natural language, review and refine the resulting EchoScript structures, and maintain control over the information used by AI.
- Three-Service Architecture: Bard converts natural language into structured EchoScript, Druid manages knowledge retrieval and evaluation, and VATES provides the conversational interface for interacting with that knowledge.
- Traceable Answers: Structured knowledge references and retrieval traces help users inspect the basis of AI-generated responses.
- Flexible Deployment: AI assistants can be delivered through embeddable website widgets, standalone interfaces, or APIs.
- Security and Governance: Role-based permissions, audit logs, passkey authentication, two-factor authentication, and configurable data retention support organizational control.
- Developer Integration: API access and integration options allow developers to incorporate VATES into existing applications and workflows.
- Multilingual Support: VATES supports knowledge interaction across multiple languages.
VATES is particularly suited to specialized, frequently changing, or non-public information where the organization owns the authoritative knowledge and incorrect answers can carry significant costs.
Pricing
VATES uses a prepaid, usage-based pricing model with no monthly subscription fee or minimum usage commitment. Usage charges are automatically deducted from the deposited balance, and service pauses when the balance is exhausted. Users can resume service by adding funds.
